The present invention relates to presenting preview information in connection with the operation of a user interface.
Users commonly interact with computers, computer program applications, consumer electronics, home electronics, or other devices or equipment using user interface (UI) controls. User interaction with the UI controls can include shifting input focus between or among the UI controls as the user navigates the UI controls. The user selects a UI control by shifting input focus to that UI control. Some UI controls have associated commands that determine the action to be performed when the user activates the UI control. Shifting input focus to a UI control that has associated commands does not result in the execution of the associated commands. Typically the user must take some further action, e.g., press the ENTER key, to execute the associated commands for a UI control after the UI control has input focus. The action to be performed when the user activates a UI control can also be determined by a sequence of user interactions with the UI controls. This is generally true for UI controls on consumer electronics devices, such as televisions with remote controls or mobile telephones, which are not commonly thought of as having or running computer programs.